YOUR
BEST TIME IS RIGHT NOW
My
high school football coach, Joe Gladys, motivated us via memorable and
practical words of wisdom. Knowing full
well that trying times would surely surface to confront each new squad of
enthusiastic and energetic athletes, he forearmed us with a sobering challenge:
“If not me, who? If not now, when?” Coach Gladys was teaching us to recognize the urgency of now. All too often, we humans tend to victimize
ourselves by embracing attitudes of procrastination. We become so fascinated by and fixated on our
future that we fail to rightly appropriate and appreciate our present. future
pipe dreams of life can virtually eradicate our awareness and blur our
focus on the mission critical here-and-now.
It reminds me of an article I read recently, which is reprinted below
for your consideration.
Most of us
convince ourselves that life will somehow be better when we get married, when
we have a baby…one thing after another.
Then we feel frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and become
convinced that we will be more content when they are. After that, we’re frustrated that we now have
troubled teenagers to deal with. We will
certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.
We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.
The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said, “For a long time it had seemed to me that life was just about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time remaining to fulfill some obligation, or some debt to be paid. Then…life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles WERE my life.”
We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.
The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said, “For a long time it had seemed to me that life was just about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time remaining to fulfill some obligation, or some debt to be paid. Then…life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles WERE my life.”
This
perspective has helped me to see that there is no singular avenue to happiness. Contentment is the only sensible pathway. So, treasure every moment that you have and
treasure it more because you shared it with some special people…special enough
to spend your time with...and remember that time waits for no one.
So stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are financially set, until the first or fifteenth of the month, until your song comes on…until you die. Once you are born again, you will decide that there is no better time than to be happy than right now.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Work like you don’t need money,
Love like you’ve never been hurt,
And dance like no one’s watching.
So stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are financially set, until the first or fifteenth of the month, until your song comes on…until you die. Once you are born again, you will decide that there is no better time than to be happy than right now.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Work like you don’t need money,
Love like you’ve never been hurt,
And dance like no one’s watching.
God
has given each of us a “gift” that we are to use to glorify His name! Do you know yours?
-Author
Unknown
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